MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) Shares Up 2.1% – Still a Buy?

Shares of MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) shot up 2.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $16.69 and last traded at $16.58. 11,287,659 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 34,953,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MARA. B. Riley lifted their target price on shares of MARA from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of MARA in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of MARA from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $12.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays began coverage on shares of MARA in a research report on Monday, November 25th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of MARA in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MARA presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.67.

MARA Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 4.00 and a current ratio of 4.00. The stock has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.18 and a beta of 5.76. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $19.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.65.

MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The business services provider reported ($0.42) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $131.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.26 million. MARA had a negative return on equity of 8.40% and a net margin of 27.48%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 34.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.05) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MARA Holdings, Inc. will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,700 shares of MARA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.80, for a total value of $330,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,029,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,187,010.60. The trade was a 0.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of MARA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.01, for a total value of $495,365.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,100,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,851,535.85. This trade represents a 0.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,915 shares of company stock worth $2,956,634 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MARA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MARA by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 226,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,669,000 after purchasing an additional 49,062 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MARA by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,656,363 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,086,000 after purchasing an additional 217,106 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of MARA by 112.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 203,975 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,308,000 after acquiring an additional 107,963 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MARA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $640,000. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of MARA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,557,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.53% of the company’s stock.

About MARA

MARA Holdings, Inc operates as a digital asset technology company that mines digital assets with a focus on the bitcoin ecosystem in United States. The company was formerly known as Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc and changed its name to MARA Holdings, Inc in August 2024. MARA Holdings, Inc was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.